kennedy



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2, B. KENNEDY.

STAMP APFIXER. No 583,650 Patented Feb. 6, 1895.

51 KM esh;

UNITED STATES PATENT @FMCE.

BASS KENNEDY, OF GLASGOl/V, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE STAMP AND LABELAFFIXING MACHINE COMPANY, LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

STAMP-AFFIXER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,650, dated February5, 1895.

Application filed June 3, 1894. Serial No. 513,916. (No model.) Patentedin England July 14-; 13 ,6

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BASS KENNEDY, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, and a resident of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Afiixing Adhesive Stamps toLetters and Such Like, (for which I have received Letters Patent ofGreat Britain No. 13,669, dated July 14,1893) of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for afixing adhesive stamps toletters, newspa pers, accounts, and such like.

The apparatus preferably consists of a wooden or other board upon or towhich is fitted a hollow pedestal in the interior of which a spiralspring or equivalent is placed. Fitted telescopically on the outside ofthe pedestal is a movable tube which is provided with asuitable handleorpress button. A V shaped slot is cut through the tube and a steel orother pin fitted in the pedestal projects through said slot. Fitted tothe telescopic tube are two arms arranged, preferably, at right angles.carries a small box or tube. In one of the boxes a small pad or spongeis fitted which is or may be held in place by a spring or equivalentfitted in the interior of the box. This pad is called the moistening padand is so arranged as, at certain times, to dip into a small well ofwater carried in a recess in the board. The well may also have a padfitted in it. In the other box the adhesive stamps such as postage,receipt stamps, &c., are placed. The stamps are held in position by asmall thin plain or toothed edging at the bottom of the box and by aspring piston at the interior of the box. The box is, of course, open atits under side to allow the stamps to pass out. The boxes may be securedto the arms by means of spring catches or equivalent. The board isprovided with suitable headings for holding letters in place when beingstamped.

In order that my said invention may be properly understood I havehereunto appended two explanatory sheets of drawings, whereon T Figure lis a front view of the stamping ap- Each of these arms supports orparatus and Fig. l a section. Fig. 2 is a plan. Fig. 3 isaside view.Fig. 4 is a back part view. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail sectional views.Figs. 7 and 8 are plan views of details. Fig. 9 is a section of thewater well and moistening pad. Fig. 10 is a detail.

Referring to the drawings whereon the same reference letters whereverrepeated indicate similar or like parts, a is the wooden or other board.5 is a hollow pedestal secured by screws or pins to said board.

0 is a spiralspring inserted in the hollow pedestal.

cl is a tube fitted telescopically on the outside of the pedestal.

e is a presser knob or button fitted on the top of thetube and which mayhave a downwardly projecting part c to serve as a guide for the spring.As will be seen at Figs. 3 and A a V or nearly V shaped slot g is cut inthe back of the tube (Z through which a pin f, screwed into the pedestal0 projects. This pin may be round or of triangular section as shown atFig. 10.

h, 7?. are two arms which project out from the tube cl, preferably atright angles to each other.

0', t" are rectangular boxes secured to the arms 71, h.

The box t has a damping pad 3' secured to or pressed on by a spiralspring in (see Fig. 5) which latter at its upper end, is secured to atubular piston Z which works telescopically in the cylindrical neck m ofthe box 2'. The tube I which is prevented from coming out of the box ibythe flange '11, is, at its upper end, secured to the arm h by a screw 0.This screw passes down through a. hole in the end of the arm and entersthe screw tapped hole 0' in the top of the piston l.

The box 2" (see Fig. 6) which is open at its under side, is for thereception of adhesive stamps. It has a plate 19 in it which is normallypressed downward by a spring g.

'r are guide pieces interposed between the plate p and the spring. Thespring, at its upper end, is secured to the piston 5, workingtelescopically within the cylindrical neck 3 of the box. The piston, inthis case also, is

secured to its arm h by a screw 0 which enters the hole 0 (dotted linesFig. 6) at the top of piston s.

n is a flange for preventing the piston coming out of place.

The stamps when inserted in the box 0 are retained in place by the thinedgings or lips I, see in plan at Fig. 701' the edgings may be made asshown in plan at Fig. 8. As will be seen the edgings are made as smallas possible consistent with the retention of the stamps. The presserplate p is by preference cut away at the parts If in order to correspond with the lips or edgings t and to facilitate the delivery of thestamps. The edgings and cuts are so made that when the plate 19 is fullypressed down it is level with the bottom of the box. (See Fig. 6). Theedgings or lips prevent more than one stamp being delivered at atimefrom the box.

a is the damping well (see also Fig. 9) which is secured in a recess inthe board a. The well is partially filled with water and has a pad init. This pad may be formed of a bent piece a of metal, such as zinc, andcovered with one or two plies of cloth 71. The pad may however be asponge or the like.

"u, r are bearings for keeping the letter or the like in position whilebeing stamped.

w is a felt or cloth pad for the letter to rest on.

a; isasmall box with an open front and top in which the stamps areplaced when being torn off the strips.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:After a number of stampshave been filled in to the box 2' with their gummed sides downward and aletter has been placed on the pad w, the knob e is pressed downwardagainst the action of the spring and at the same time twisted slightlyto the left hand. As the tube 61 is pressed down the pin ftravelingalong the part g of the slot gtnrns the tube 01 and with it the arms hand the box 2' round over the well u. A further pressure on the knob nowforces the box t' downward and brings the pad j in contact with the damppad 10 from which it absorbs a certain amount of moisture. The pressureon the knob is now relieved and the spring 0, allowed to force up thetube 61 to its original position when it, the knob, is again presseddown, but is this time twisted toward the right hand so as to bring thepin f into the part of the slot and cause the box '5 at the nextdownward pressure to come down over the top right hand corner of theletter and damp it. lVhen this has been done the spring is allowed toagain force up the tube, which is thereafter subjected to a thirdpressure in which the pin f is caused to traverse the part g of the slotand bring simultaneously the pad j in contact with the moist pad 16 and.the stamp ing box 4," over the top right hand corner of the letterlying on pad 20. The third pressure should be strong enough to cause oneof the stamps in said box 2' to adhere to the damp part of the letter.At the next upstroke the box 5 is brought over the pad to ready tomoisten a second letter and the stamp box 2" is moved out of the way. Asthe edgings or lips If present very little gripping or retarding surfaceto the stamps there is no danger, when one is pressed down on the dampletter, of its being removed again at the next upstroke.

Vith a little practice considerable speed can be attained and theletters stamped very quickly.

Having now particularly described and as certained the nature of my saidinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination the pedestal, movable damping device adapted tocontact with the envelope or paper the stamping device and thevertically reciprocating carrier for said movable device's arranged tobe rotated and -means for controlling the rotary movement substantiallyas described.

2. In combination the pedestal, the base, the damping device thereon,the movable damping and stamping devices, and the vertically movablecarrier therefor comprising the tube and the V shaped guide thereonadapted to receive the pin from the pedestal, substantially asdescribed.

3. In combination the pedestal, the vertically sliding carrier havingthe V shaped guide, and the damping and stamping devices carried by thesaid carrier and the pin for engaging the V shaped carrier to partiallyrotate the same, substantially as described.

4. In combination the pedestal the rotary sliding carrier thereon, themeans for controlling the rotary movement and the damping and stampingdevices comprising the pistons secured to the radial arms on the carrierand the boxes carried by said pistons with interposed springs,substantially as described.

Signed at Glasgow, Scotland, this 7th day of May, A. D. 1894.

BASS KENNEDY.

lVitn esses:

H. D. FITZPATR-TCK, WM. J. Dow.

